A Statement of Facts Concerning Our Present Situation—No. 6
By Arthur G. Daniells
THE numerous quotations from the Testimonies given in this series of articles convey some idea of the large amount of varied instruction we have received through the spirit of prophecy regarding what we call medical missionary work. The true principles of health and healing have been enunciated; the failure of ministers and people to appreciate and practise these principles has been sharply reproved; the dangers arising from false views regarding doctrinal teaching, and plans of administration have been pointed out, and the proper course for the denomination to pursue in carrying forward its medical missionary work in all parts of the world has been placed before us in clear outlines. And in all the instruction that has come to us regarding this important phase of our work, it has been made very clear and emphatic that we as a people are to carry forward this line of work with the same intelligence, loyalty, and enthusiasm that we do other lines. We are admonished to become well informed regarding health principles, to adopt them in our lives, and to make them known to our fellow men. The following quotations convey some idea of the excellent counsel that has been given us for more than a quarter of a century:— Medical missionary work is the right hand of the gospel. It is necessary to the advancement of the cause of God. As through it men and women are led to see the importance of right habits of living, the saving power of the truth will be made known. Every city is to be entered by workers trained to do medical missionary work. As the right hand of the third angel’s message, God’s methods of treating disease will open doors for the entrance of present truth.—“Testimonies for the Church,” Vol. VII, page 59. We have come to a time when every member of the church should take hold of medical missionary work. The world is a lazar-house filled with victims of both physical and spiritual disease. Everywhere people are perishing for lack of a knowledge of the truths that have been committed to us. The members of the church are in need of an awakening, that they may realize their responsibility to impart these truths. Those who have been enlightened by the truth are to be light-bearers to the world.—Id. page 62. Let our people show that they have a living interest in medical missionary work. Let them prepare themselves for usefulness by studying the books that have been written for our instruction in these lines. These books deserve much more attention and appreciation than they have received. Much that is for the benefit of all to understand has been written for the special purpose of instruction in the principles of health. Those who study and practise these principles will be greatly blessed, both physically and spiritually. An understanding of the philosophy of health will be a safeguard against many of the evils that are continually increasing.—Id., page 63. Books and papers treating on the subject of health and temperance could be placed in many homes. The circulation of this literature is an important matter; for thus precious knowledge can be imparted in regard to the treatment of disease,—knowledge that would be a great blessing to those who can not afford to pay for the physician’s visits.—Id., page 65. We have received very definite counsel regarding the relation of the medical missionary work to other parts of our cause, and the general plan by which it should be carried forward. This counsel should be understood and followed. The medical missionary work should be a part of the work of every church in our land. Disconnected from the church, it would soon become a strange medley of disorganized atoms. . . . The gospel ministry is needed to give permanence and stability to the medical missionary work; and the ministry needs the medical missionary work to demonstrate the practical working of the gospel. Neither part of the work is complete without the other.—Id., Vol. VI, page 289. As the medical missionary work becomes more extended, there will be a temptation to make it independent of our conferences. But it has been presented to me that this plan is not right. The different lines of our work are but parts of one great whole. They have one center.—Id., page 235. 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. . . . 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.—Id., Vol. VIII, pages 232, 233. God has not set any kingly power in the Seventh-day Adventist Church to control the whole body, or to control any branch of the work. He has not provided that the burden of leadership shall rest upon a few men. Responsibilities are distributed among a large number of competent men. Every member of the church has a voice in choosing officers of the church. The church chooses the officers of the State conferences. Delegates chosen by the State conferences choose the officers of the union conferences; and delegates chosen by the union conferences choose the officers of the General Conference. By this arrangement, every conference, every institution, every church, and every individual, either directly or through representatives, has a voice in the election of the men who bear the chief responsibilities in the General Conference.—Id., pages 236, 237. 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.—Id., page 233. From these statements it is plain that the medical missionary work bears the same relation to this cause that all the other branches bear, and that it is to be carried forward by the same general plans of administration adopted to advance other departments of the cause. This naturally leads to a study of the leading features of our plan of organization.