I wish to present before our people the blessing that the Lord has placed within our reach by enabling us to obtain possession of the beautiful sanitarium property known as Loma Linda. This property lies sixty miles east of Los Angeles, on the main line of the Southern Pacific Railway. Its name, Loma Linda,—“Beautiful Hill’—describes the place. Of the 76 acres comprised in the property, about thirty-five form a beautiful hill, which rises one hundred and twenty-five feet above the valley. Upon this hill the sanitarium building is situated. LLM 108.1
The main building is a well-planned structure of sixty-four rooms, having three stories and a basement. It is completely furnished, heated by steam, and lighted by electricity. It is surrounded with large pepper trees and other shade trees. LLM 108.2
About ten rods away and on the highest part of the hill there is a group of five cottages. The central cottage has nine beautiful living rooms and two bathrooms. In the basement is a heating plant for the five cottages. LLM 108.3
Prettily grouped around this larger cottage are four smaller ones, having four rooms each, with bath and toilet. An interesting feature of three of these cottages is that each room has its veranda, with broad windows running to the floor, so that the beds can be wheeled right out on the veranda, and the patients can sleep in the open air. LLM 109.1
Between these cottages and the main building, there is a recreation building, which can be used as a gymnasium, and for class-rooms and meetings. LLM 109.2
In all there are ninety rooms. The buildings are furnished throughout, and are ready for use. LLM 109.3
There is a post office in the main building, and most of the trains stop at the railway station, about forty rods from the sanitarium. LLM 109.4
The seventy-six acres of hill and valley land is well cultivated and will furnish much fruit and many vegetables for the institution. Fifteen acres of the valley land is in alfalfa. Eight acres are in good bearing orange orchard. Many acres of land round the cottages and the main building are laid out in lawns, drives, and walks. LLM 109.5
There are horses and carriages, cows and poultry, farming implements and wagons. The buildings and grounds are abundantly supplied with excellent water. LLM 109.6
This property is now in our possession. It cost the Company from who we purchased it about $140,000.00. They erected the buildings and ran the place for a time as a sanitarium. Then they tried to operate it as a tourist hotel. But this plan did not succeed, and they decided to sell. It was closed last April, and as the stockholders became more anxious to sell, it was offered to us for $40,000. and for this amount our brethren have purchased it. LLM 109.7
We must now secure money with which to complete the payments. Ten thousand dollars have already been paid. Ten thousand more must be paid in September and December, and the remaining twenty thousand at the end of two years. LLM 109.8
Until our recent visit, I had never before seen such a place as this with my natural eyes, but four years ago just such a place was presented before me as one of those that would come into our possession if we moved wisely. It is a wonderful place in which to work for the sick, and in which to begin our work for Redlands and Riverside. We must make decided efforts to secure helpers who will do most faithful medical missionary work. If Christ will bless the treatment given, and let His healing power be felt, a great work will be accomplished. We shall need to secure competent physicians and nurses,—men and women who are true and faithful; and who can be relied on; men and women who live in constant dependence upon the great Healer; men and women who humble their hearts before God and believe His Word, keeping their eyes fixed on their Leader and Counselor, the Lord Jesus Christ. LLM 109.9
O, how I long to see the sick and suffering coming to this institution! It is one of the most perfect places for a sanitarium that I have ever seen, and I thank our heavenly Father for giving us such a place. It is provided with almost everything necessary for sanitarium work, and it is the very place in which sanitarium work can be carried forward on right lines, by faithful physicians and managers. LLM 110.1
The buildings are all ready, and work must be begun in them as soon as we can secure the necessary physicians and nurses. I am anxious to see the work started. For some time I have been looking for just such a place as this, with good buildings, all ready for occupancy, surrounded by shade trees and orchards. When I saw Loma Linda, I said, Thank the Lord. This is the very place we have been hoping to find. LLM 110.2
The character of the buildings, the terraced hill, covered by graceful pepper trees, the profusion of flowers and shrubs, the tall shade trees, the orchards and fields,—all combine to make this place meet fully the descriptions that I have given in the past of the place presented to me as the most perfect for sanitarium work. Everything at Loma Linda is fresh and wholesome and attractive. The patients could live out of doors a large part of the time. The land will serve as a school for the education of patients. By out-door exercises and working in the soil, men and women will regain their health. Rational methods for the cure of disease will be used in a variety of ways. Drugs will be discarded. LLM 110.3
Out of the cities, has been my constant advice. But it has taken years for our people to become aroused to an understanding of the situation. It has taken years for them to realize that the Lord would have them leave the cities and do their work in the quiet of the country, away from the turmoil and noise and confusion. We are thankful to God for Loma Linda. It is one of the best locations for sanitarium work that I have ever seen. At this place the sick can be given every natural advantage for regaining health and strength. LLM 110.4
Forty years ago the Lord began to give us instruction in regard to the establishment of sanitariums, as one of His chosen ways for proclaiming the third angel's message. Men and women bring disease upon themselves by transgressing the laws of God. The laws of nature, as truly as the precepts of the decalogue, are divine, and only in obedience to them can health be recovered or preserved. Many are suffering as the result of hurtful practises, who might be restored to health if they would do what they might for their own restoration. They need to be taught that every practice which destroys the physical, mental or moral energies is sin, and that health is to be secured through obedience to the laws that God has established for the good of all mankind. LLM 110.5
Our sanitariums are to be schools in which people of all classes shall be taught the way of salvation. In them the sick are to be taught to overcome the appetite for tea coffee, fleshmeat, tobacco, and intoxicating liquor of all kind. LLM 111.1
In every one of our medical institutions the sick and suffering are to be pointed to the Saviour as their only hope. In the Christian life there is strength and joy and courage. Turning away from the injurious fashions of this degenerate age brings peace of mind and the assurance of the love and friendship of the heavenly Father. Receiving the Lord in simplicity places men and women where they know the meaning of the words, “As many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God.” LLM 111.2
Out of the cities, is my message. Those who have had the light, but have neglected to follow the instruction that the Lord has given regarding the location of our health institutions and our schools, will one day see the folly of clinging to the cities. They will realize how kind the Lord was to point out the right way. LLM 111.3
Let your schools, the high and the lowly, be out of the cities. If your desire to live a heavenly life in this world, place yourselves in right relation to God. Let your aspirations be Christlike. Christ lived much in contact with nature. God's missionaries are to form their lives after the divine similitude. They are to have a close connection with Christ. His life is to be their example. LLM 111.4
For the past twenty years the Lord has been giving the message that plants are to be made in many places. He will greatly bless us as we endeavor to carry out His will. Out of the city into the country, is the word that has been given, and this word is to be obeyed. Our sanitariums are to be established in the most healthful surroundings. We have tried to follow closely the Lord's directions in this matter, and he has let light shine on our pathway, as we have endeavored to establish sanitariums where sin-sick souls may be led to the great Healer. God declared that we should find buildings suitable for our work, and that these buildings would be offered to us at a very low price. Has not our recent experience in Southern California proved this true? LLM 111.5
I could not but weep for joy as I saw how plainly the providence of God had been revealed in our selection of places for sanitarium work in San Diego, Los Angeles, and Redlands and Riverside districts. LLM 111.6
Money is needed with which to establish the work in places outside of the cities, from which the cities can be worked. We must have means with which to meet the payments on Loma Linda. I ask our brethren who have means to awake to the responsibilities resting upon them, and to do what they can to help us. Those who have the Lord's money in trust should regard it as a privilege to give of their means to help to pay for a place so well adapted for sanitarium work. Gifts, and loans at a low rate of interest, will be gladly received. My brethren, it is the Lord's money that you are handling, and you cannot invest it better than by putting it into the Lord's work. Thus you will lay up treasure in heaven. I beseech you, by the mercies of God, “That ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” LLM 111.7
I have had much to write in regard to the shortness of time. Our work is soon to close, and we are now to place ourselves in working order in God's way. We are not to link ourselves up with those who are not wise to discern what is the will of God.” LLM 112.1
I have had much to write in regard to the shortness of time. Our work is soon to close, and we are now to place ourselves in working order in God's way. We are not to link ourselves up with those who are not wise to discern what is the will of God. We are to come out from among them and be separate. The end of all things is at hand, and the message of warning must be given. A spirit of anger is stirring the nations, and it will soon be too late to work for the Lord. Every conceivable deception will be brought in, and the enemy will work with masterly power. Stronger and stronger will be his efforts, until in heaven it is said, “It is finished.” LLM 112.2
Ellen G. White
*****
“Elmshaven”, Sanitarium, Calif.
K. 233'05 August 9, 1905.
Dear Brother and Sister Kress,
....I wish to say to you that if God opens the way for the brethren in other parts of Australia to purchase property that may be used for sanitarium work, such as the place that Brother Semmens has written about, forbid them not. Utter not one word of remonstrance. There are many cities to be worked, and medical missionary work is not to be confined to a few centers. LLM 112.3
For a long time the Battle Creek Sanitarium was the only medical institution conducted by our people. But for many years light has been given that sanitariums should be established near such cities as Melbourne and Adelaide. And when opportunities come to establish the work in still other places, never are we to reach out the hand and say, No, you must not create an interest in other places, for fear that our patronage will be decreased. If sanitarium work is the means by which the way is to be opened for the proclamation of the truth, encourage and do not discourage those who are trying to advance this work. LLM 112.4
May the Lord increase our faith, and help us to see that He desires us all to become acquainted with His ministry of healing and with the mercy-seat. He desires the light of His grace to shine forth from many places. We are living in the last days. Troublous times are before us. He who understands the necessities of the situation arranges that advantages should be brought to the workers in various places, to enable them more effectually to arouse the attention of the people. He knows the needs and the necessities of the feeblest of His flock, and He sends His own message into the highways and the byways. He loves us with an everlasting love. LLM 112.5
There are souls in many places who have not yet heard the message. Henceforth medical missionary work is to be carried forward with an earnestness with which it has never yet been done. This work is the door through which the truth is to find entrance to the large cities, and sanitariums are to be established in many places. LLM 113.1
Since we returned from Australia, the Lord has opened the way for the establishment of the sanitarium work in Southern California. The brethren there have found opportunity to buy several properties at a price very much below the original cost. The first of these was an opportunity to purchase the Fernando school buildings... LLM 113.2
Not long ago a building at Glendale, eight miles from Los Angeles, was purchased and fitted up for sanitarium work. Originally this building was an expensive one, costing the owners about forty thousand dollars. There are seventy-five rooms, many of which are arranged in suites, a small one for a bedroom, and a larger one for a sitting-room. There were two bathrooms on each floor. but they were not such as would be needed in giving treatments, and new treatment-rooms have been added. LLM 113.3
The rooms in the buildings are pleasant, and the location of the building is very good. The place is a sightly one. When Brother Burden first went to see the agent about purchasing this place, twenty thousand dollars was asked for it. Brother Burden then told the agent something of the purpose for which those desirous of purchasing the building wished to use it. He told him about our medical missionary work, and assured him that this work was carried on without any thought of making money except for missionary purposes. The agent was much interested, and was inclined in favor of the idea, and he named a sum considerably lower than the sum first mentioned. But Brother Burden told him that it would be impossible for us to pay that price, and he then said, “You can have it for twelve thousand five hundred dollars and you may consider the remainder of the price a gift to the institution.” LLM 113.4
Recently we have purchased what is known as the Loma Linda property. This property is sixty miles from Los Angeles, and is on the main railway line from Los Angeles to New Orleans. It was owned by a corporation of one hundred and fifty people, seventy of whom were physicians. But the physicians did not agree among themselves, and the place lost money instead of making it; and it was decided to sell. It continued to be a loss financially and the stockholders became anxious to sell. It was offered for forty thousand dollars, and for this price our brethren have purchased it, paying down five thousand dollars. They will make three other payments of five thousand each, and after that will have two years in which to pay the remainder, at six percent interest. LLM 113.5
The property is a most beautiful one. There are seventy-six acres of land, twenty-three of which are set out to fruit and ornamental trees. There are twelve acres of oranges, and eight acres of plums, apricots, lemons, and grapefruit. The rest of the land is garden, alfalfa, and pasture-land. LLM 114.1
There is one large building and five cottages, four of which have four rooms each, and one nine rooms. In all there are ninety rooms. The buildings are all furnished throughout, and are ready for use. LLM 114.2
There are several good carriages, five horses, four cows and one hundred and thirty-five chickens. LLM 114.3
There is an ample water supply, the property having two good wells. LLM 114.4
I know that it was in the providence of God that we had an opportunity to purchase this property. LLM 114.5
I wrote the foregoing last night, and this morning I am roused up to repeat the instructions that the Lord has given me in regard to establishing sanitariums. Again and again this matter has been presented to me, and one case especially has been urged upon my notice. At great cost a sanitarium was erected at Boulder, Colorado. It has been a very difficult matter to make this sanitarium what it should be, and yet meet all expenses. The effort to do this has meant a great deal of hard work and much careful study. LLM 114.6
During the past four years one of our doctors established himself in the city of Boulder, just a little distance from our sanitarium, and began to build up a private sanitarium. This was not right, and has been to the injury of our sanitarium, which has always had a struggle to make a success and to accomplish the work which the Lord designed it to do. The action of the one who established this private sanitarium was neither just nor righteous. Were he to continue to do as he has done in the past, constant difficulties would arise. He draws patients away from the sanitarium established in the order of God. More than this, he allows his patients to have meat, while the workers in our sanitariums have always endeavored to show their patients that they would be better off without meat. LLM 114.7
The question is, what shall be done? Here are two institutions, one endeavoring to hold up and follow the principles of health reform, and the other allowing its patients to indulge in the use of flesh-meat, and because of this, drawing patients away from the first institution. The matter is to be treated in a fair, Christlike manner. When the one who has established himself so close beside the Lord's institution, is converted in heart and mind, he will see the necessity of carrying out the principles of the word of God, and will harmonize with his neighbors. If he cannot blend with them, he will go to some other place. There are many other places to which he could go. LLM 114.8
The question has been asked, should we sell the Boulder Sanitarium to the one who has set up practice so close to it? I answer No, No! The one who has offered to buy it is not keeping up the standard of health reform, and the Lord would not be pleased to have the institution sold to him. The Boulder Sanitarium is to do its appointed work. From it the truth for this time is to shine forth, and the great message of warning be given... LLM 115.1
Ellen G. White
*****