This document discusses the history and importance of the health message in the Adventist church. It traces the origins of the health reform message from visions received by Ellen White in 1863 instructing the establishment of health institutions. The Western Health Reform Institute (later Battle Creek Sanitarium) was opened in 1866. The document outlines biblical support for the health message and principles of diet, exercise, lifestyle, and their connection to spiritual growth and effectiveness in ministry. It emphasizes that health reform was meant to be an integral part of spreading the gospel message to all nations.

1. Health
Reform
&
the
Advent
Movement

3. First Angel’s
Message
Rev 14: 6-7

4. Second Angel’s
Message
Rev 14: 8

5. Third Angel’s
Message
Rev 14: 9-11

6. A Firm
Platform
These messages were
represented to me as an
anchor to the people of
God. Those who
understand and receive
them will be kept from
being swept away by the
many Delusions of satan.
EW pg 256.

7. A Firm
Platform
I saw a company who
stood well guarded and
firm, giving no
countenance to those
who would unsettle the
established faith of the
body…I was shown three
steps- the first, second,
and third angel’s
messages. EW pg 256.

8. A Firm
Platform
Said my accompanying
angel, “Woe to him who
shall move a block or stir a
pin of these messages. The
true understanding of these
messages is of vital
importance.
The destiny of souls hangs
upon the manner in which
they are received.” EW pg 256.

10. May 21, 1863
A group of 21 delegates
representing 3,500 Seventh-day
Adventist met in Battle Creek,
Michigan "for the purpose of
securing unity and efficiency in
labor, and promoting the
general interests of the cause of
present truth, and of perfecting
the organization of Seventh-day
Adventists."

11. Review and Herald,
May 26, 1863
[The result was the
formation of the General
Conference and a linking
together of local churches,
state conferences, etc. The
fully united and fully
organized Seventh-day
Adventist Church was born.]

13. The Beginning
of oUR
healTh
Message

14. "It was at the
house of Brother A.
Hilliard at Otsego,
Michigan, June 6,
1863 that the great
subject of health
reform was
opened before me
in vision."
3 SM p. 276

15. December 25, 1865
"Tell My people that they must establish an
institution of their own. A home where the sick
can be treated and where they can learn how to get
well and keep well."
Statement from a vision received Christmas day 1865.
[The Western Health Reform Institute (later called
Battle Creek Sanitarium) opened the following
year in 1866; the first issue of The Health
Reformer came out in August, 1866.]
RH 4-30-14; 1T p. 492.

16. Western Health Reform Institute
1866-1877

18. Our Health Message is more
than:
 Veggie
burgers
 tofu
 Hot foot
baths
 and stop
smoking
programs

19. Food is
only part
of the
picture…

22. (1869) 2T 202, 203
• When Christ was the most fiercely beset by
temptation, He ate nothing. He committed
Himself to God, and through earnest prayer,
and perfect submission to the will of His
Father, came off conqueror. Those who
profess the truth for these last days, above
every other class of professed Christians,
should imitate the great Exemplar in prayer.

23. MS 93, 1901
• What a pity it is that often, when the greatest self-denial
should be exercised, the stomach is crowded
with a mass of unhealthful food, which lies there to
decompose. The affliction of the stomach affects the
brain. The imprudent eater does not realize that he is
disqualifying himself for giving wise counsel,
disqualifying himself for laying plans for the best
advancement of the work of God. But this is so...

24. • Indulgence of appetite is the cause of
dissension, strife, discord, and many other
evils. Impatient words are spoken and unkind
deeds are done, dishonest practices are
followed and passion is manifested, and all
because the nerves of the brain are diseased
by the abuse heaped upon the stomach.

25. (1875) 3T 486, 487
• If the indulgence of appetite was so strong
upon the race that, in order to break its
power, the divine Son of God, in behalf of
man, was required to fast nearly six weeks,
what a work is before the Christian in order
that he may overcome even as Christ
overcame! The strength of the temptation to
indulge perverted appetite can be measured
only by the inexpressible anguish of Christ in
that long fast in the wilderness.

26. 2T 400
• All who are partakers of the divine nature will
escape the corruption that is in the world
through lust. It is impossible for those who
indulge the appetite to attain to Christian
perfection.

28. STATEMENT OF OBJECTIVES
of Seventh-day Adventist Medical
Institutions
Adopted by the
MEDICAL DEPARTMENT of the General
Conference at the Autumn Council held
October, 1956

29. In the early days of the Advent
people, instruction was given to
establish health institutions
whose objectives were:
• 1. "To relieve the sick and the afflicted,
• 2. "To awaken a spirit of inquiry,
• 3. "To disseminate light,
• 4. "To advance reform.“
7T, p. 104

30. Does health play a role in
the spreading of the gospel?
• Managing your health is as much part of
God’s stewardship as managing your
money, time and talents
• Good health contributes to clear
thinking, for the correct discernment of
truth, and helps a person to be more
effective for the Lord

31. TThhee DDiivviinnee PPaatttteerrnn
Matt 9:35
Then Jesus went
about all the cities
and villages,
teaching in their
synagogues,
preaching the gospel
of the kingdom, and
healing every
sickness and every
disease among the
people.

32. Should We Employ His Method?
Only Method that Works
Study Christ's Methods.--If ever it has been essential
that we understand and follow right methods of
teaching and follow the example of Christ, it is now.
--Letter 322, 1908. {Ev 53.1}
Christ's method alone will give true success in
reaching the people. The Saviour mingled with men
as one who desired their good. He showed His
sympathy for them, ministered to their needs, and
won their confidence. Then He bade them, "Follow
Me." --MH 143.3

33. The True Interpretation of the gospel
The Lord will give you success in this work,
for the gospel is the power of God unto salvation,
when it is interwoven with the practical life,
when it is lived and practiced.
The union of Christ like work for the body and
Christ like work for the soul
is the true interpretation of the gospel .-
-An Appeal for the Medical Missionary College, pp. 14, 15. {CME 7.3}

34. “Christ’s method alone will
give true success in reaching
the people. The Savior
mingled with men as one who
desired their good. He showed
sympathy for them, ministered
to their needs, and won their
confidence. Then He bade
Integrating Lifestyle into
Evangelistic Series 34
them ‘Follow Me’.”
Ministry of Healing, p. 143

35. Christ The Pattern
“Christ’s method alone
will give true success
in reaching the people”
Ministry of Healing, p. 143
Six steps in soul winning:
“The Savior mingled with men (contact)
As One who desired their good, (concern)
He showed His sympathy for them(compassion)
Ministered to their needs, (caring)
And won their confidence (confidence)
Then He bade them. ‘follow Me.’ (commitment)

36. 3SM p. 274 [First statement in SOP regarding diet.]
"Deny the unhealthy appetite, eat less fine food,
eat course food, free from grease. Then as you
sit at the table you can from the heart ask God's
blessing upon the food." [1854]

39. Saturday Evening Post January—Feb. 1992
by Patrick Perry
Members of the Seventh-Day Adventist Church
are often acknowledged as the "healthiest people
in America." In a nation with increasing cases of
heart disease, obesity, osteoporosis, cancer, and
other diet-related maladies, this denomination's
adherents have managed to beat the odds. Study
after study has found that church members not
only live longer, but experience few of the
debilitating diseases that affect most Americans.

40. Consider the following statistics:
* Male Seventh-Day Adventists have a life
expectancy 8.9 years longer than the average,
while females have one that is 7.5 years
longer.
* Even though vegetarians, Seventh-Day
Adventists have a reduced risk of
osteoporosis compared to meat-eaters in the
general population.

41. * Members experience a lower incidence of
breast, prostate, pancreatic, bladder, and
ovarian cancers than the general population.
* Adventists who use no meat, milk, or
eggs--total vegetarians--have an expected
coronary heart disease mortality rate only 12
percent of that of the general population;
non-vegetarian male Adventists have 56
percent of the expected coronary heart
disease mortality rate.

42. Seventh-Day Adventists teach prevention of
disease by life-style management. The secret
to healthy living, they believe, is not how
much you eat, but what you eat, and when.
Whole grains, water, fresh fruits, and
vegetables play a key role in the church's diet,
but brisk walks, a hearty "main meal"
breakfast, and avoidance of smoking, alcohol,
sugar, and fat are also important.

43. "What does this mean for those of us who are not
Seventh-Day Adventist?" ask authors Chris Rucker
and Jan Hoffman in The Seventh-Day Diet. "It
means that instead of waiting for science to give us
a 'magic pill' for cancer, instead of waiting for more
expensive, sophisticated types of surgery to control
heart disease, instead of cringing at the thought of
another painful, self-depriving weight-loss
program, we can take a look at the practices of a
people who have found a better way.“ . . . We
encourage you to investigate further and practice
the principles of the Seventh-Day Adventist diet.

44. Read-
John 10:10

45. In Mrs. E. G. White’s will, dated February 12,
1912, provision was made regarding certain
“proposed books,” which she greatly desired to be
prepared. Among these was a historical work
listed as “Experience of Ellen G. White in
Connection With the Health Reform Movement
Among Seventh-day Adventists.”
Preface, The Story of Our
Health Message
[Begun by Clarence C, Crisler, secretary of Mrs.
White. After Crisler was called to serve in the Far
East. the Trustees of the E. G. White Estate
asked D. E. Robinson to complete the work.]

47. Loma Linda School of Nursing
July 10, 1907
First commencement consisted of
these five nurses.

48. Matthew 28:19
Go ye therefore and teach
(+ health reform) all nations

49. 1NL p. 41 We are to carry
forward in our world gospel
medical missionary work. This
work means far more than many
comprehend. The one great work
of medical missionaries is to be to
fulfill the commission to carry the
gospel of salvation to all parts of
the world.

50. Mat 24:14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be
preached in all the world for a witness unto all
nations; and then shall the end come.
Laodicea Romans
3:27
DA p. 633 By giving the gospel to the
world it is in our power to hasten our
Lord's return.

51. AA p. 13 Wonderful
is the work which the
Lord designs to
accomplish through
His church, that His
name may be
glorified. A picture of
this work is given in
Ezekiel's vision of the
river of healing: [Eze.
47:8-12 quoted]

52. The
River
Ezek 47:9 . . . they
shall be healed; and
every thing shall live
where the river
flows.

53. MM p. 317 We shall
see the medical
missionary work
broadening and
deepening at every
point of its progress,
because of the
inflowing of hundreds
and thousands of
streams, until the
whole earth is covered
as the waters cover
the sea.

54. How many are called to be medical
missionaries?
CH p. 389 All gospel workers should
know how to give the simple treatments
that do so much to relieve pain and remove
disease.

55. John The Baptist
• He must be a temple for the indwelling Spirit
of God. In order to fulfill his mission, he must
have a sound physical constitution, and
mental and spiritual strength...

56. • In the time of John the Baptist, greed for
riches, and the love of luxury and display had
become widespread. Sensuous pleasures,
feasting and drinking, were causing physical
disease and degeneracy, benumbing the
spiritual perceptions, and lessening the
sensibility to sin. John was to stand as a
reformer. By his abstemious life and plain
dress he was to rebuke the excesses of his
time. DA 100

57. A Representative of God’s Last-Day
Messengers
• In preparing the way for Christ's first advent,
he was a representative of those who are to
prepare a people for our Lord's second
coming…
• All who would perfect holiness in the fear of
God must learn the lessons of temperance
and self-control...
{DA 101.2}

58. Divine Plan in Medical Missionary
Work
…Ever since the entrance of sin the Crisis
progresses. Sickness, suffering, and degradation
is the result and is pervasive…Through Jesus
Christ, God designed a plan of rescue for the
world. That end time plan is called Medical
Missionary work.

59. THE DIVINE HEALER

60. THE BEST MEDICINE
The influence of the Spirit of God is the
very best medicine that can be received
by a sick man or woman. Heaven is all
health; and the more deeply the
heavenly influences are realized, the
more sure will be the recovery of the
believing invalid.--3T 172.

61. NOT BY HUMAN POWER
We cannot heal. We cannot change the
diseased conditions of the body. But it is
our part, as medical missionaries, as
workers together with God, to use the
means that He has provided. Then we
should pray that God will bless these
agencies...

62. THE LORD’S IMPERATIVE
Do medical missionary work. Thus you
will gain access to the hearts of the
people. The way will be prepared for
more decided proclamation of the truth.
You will find that relieving their physical
suffering gives an opportunity to
minister to their spiritual needs. {CME
7.2}

63. IN TIME OF PERSECUTION
…those who would stand for freedom of
conscience will be placed in unfavorable
positions. For their own sake, they
should, while they have the opportunity,
become intelligent in regard to disease,
its causes, prevention, and cure...

64. IN TIME OF PERSECUTION
All those who do this will find a field of labor
anywhere. There will be suffering ones,
plenty of them, who will need help, not only
among those of our own faith, but largely
among those who know not the truth. The
shortness of time demands an energy that
has not been aroused among those who
claim to believe the present truth.--Counsels
on Health, p. 506.

65. THE GREAT FINAL TEST
The truth for this time, the third angel's
message, is to be proclaimed with a
loud voice as we approach the great
final test. This test must come to the
churches in connection with true
medical missionary work.

66. A MIGHTY MOVEMENT
There is no change in the messages that
God has sent in the past. The work in
the cities is the essential work for this
time. When the cities are worked as God
would have them, the result will be the
setting in operation of a mighty
movement such as we have not yet
witnessed.--Medical Ministry, p. 304

67. GIVE HEALTH REFORM ITS RIGHTFUL PLACE
The gospel of health has able advocates, but
their work has been made very hard because
so many ministers, presidents of conferences,
and others in positions of influence have
failed to give the question of health reform its
proper attention. They have not recognized it
in its relation to the work of the message as
the right arm of the body...

68. Health Reform AND THE
Third Angel’s Message

69. Third angel
When the third angel's message is
received in its fullness, health reform
will be given its place in the councils of
the conference, in the work of the
church, in the home, at the table, and in
all the household arrangements. {6T
327.2}

70. THE GOSPEL WORKER
All gospel workers should know how to give
the simple treatments that do so much to
relieve pain and remove disease.
(Ministry of Healing, p. 146)
Every gospel worker should feel that the
giving of instruction in the principles of
healthful living is a part of his appointed
work. Of this work there is great need, and
the world is open for it.
(Ministry of Healing, p. 147)

71. THE URGENCY OF THE HOUR

72. QUALIFIED BY THE SPIRIT
As the time comes for it [the message of the
third angel] to be given with greatest power,
the Lord will work through humble
instruments, leading the minds of those who
consecrate themselves to His service. The
laborers will be qualified rather by the
unction of His Spirit than by the training of
literary institutions. {Evangelism 699.5}

73. AS THE HAND TO THE BODY
God has shown that health reform is as
closely connected with the third angel's
message as the hand is with the body.
There is nowhere to be found so great a
cause of physical and moral degeneracy
as a neglect of this important subject.
{CH 73.1}

74. THE RIGHT HAND
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...

75. THE RIGHT HAND
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, Vol. 7, p.
59.

76. THE RIGHT HAND
A body without hands is useless. In giving
honor to the body, honor must also be given
to the helping hands, which are agencies of
such importance that without them the body
can do nothing. Therefore the body which
treats indifferently the right hand, refusing
its aid, is able to accomplish nothing.
--Medical Ministry, p. 238.

77. NOT THE MESSAGE ITSELF
…but the arm cannot take the place of
the body. The proclamation of the third
angel's message, the commandments of
God and the testimony of Jesus, is the
burden of our work...

78. The message is to be proclaimed with a
loud cry, and is to go to the whole
world. The presentation of health
principles must be united with this
message, but must not in any case be
independent of it, or in any way take
the place of it. {CD 75.1}

79. We are nearing the eenndd ooff tthhiiss eeaarrtthh''ss hhiissttoorryy,, aanndd tthhee
ddiiffffeerreenntt lliinneess ooff GGoodd''ss wwoorrkk aarree ttoo bbee ccaarrrriieedd ffoorrwwaarrdd
wwiitthh mmuucchh mmoorree sseellff--ssaaccrriiffiiccee tthhaann iiss aatt pprreesseenntt
mmaanniiffeesstt..
TThhee wwoorrkk ffoorr tthheessee llaasstt ddaayyss iiss iinn aa ssppeecciiaall sseennssee aa
mmiissssiioonnaarryy wwoorrkk.. TThhee pprreesseennttaattiioonn ooff pprreesseenntt ttrruutthh,,
ffrroomm tthhee ffiirrsstt lleetttteerr ooff iittss aallpphhaabbeett ttoo tthhee llaasstt,, mmeeaannss
mmiissssiioonnaarryy eeffffoorrtt.. TThhee wwoorrkk ttoo bbee ddoonnee ccaallllss ffoorr
ssaaccrriiffiiccee aatt eevveerryy aaddvvaannccee sstteepp..
FFrroomm tthhiiss uunnsseellffiisshh sseerrvviiccee tthhee wwoorrkkeerrss wwiillll ccoommee
ffoorrtthh ppuurriiffiieedd aanndd rreeffiinneedd aass ggoolldd ttrriieedd iinn tthhee ffiirree.. {{CCHH
221166..11}}