This document discusses the Adventist health message as received through Ellen White. It provides 10 key points that summarize the message: 1. There is a significant link between physical and spiritual health. 2. God communicates to us through our mind and body. 3. Following health principles does not earn salvation. 4. Christians seek to promote life and do their best in all circumstances. 5. Christians follow principles of true temperance. 6. Various bad habits can pollute and destroy the body. 7. The church should establish healthcare and education centers. 8. Healing should use natural remedies when possible. 9. The original diet is ideal.

1. Ask George Washington
Whether the Adventist
Health Message Is
Relevant Today
Denis Fortin
The Writings of Ellen G. White

2. Obituaries in the Review and Herald
(1857-63)
 Age of Seventh-day Adventists at death:
 (1) Slightly more that ¼ died before age 7.
 (2) Another ¼ died between the ages of 10 and 29.
 (3) Thus, virtually ½ of all SDA recorded death in this
period came before the individual attained his or her
30th year of life.
 Death frequently came with unexpected
suddenness.

3. Obituaries in the Review and Herald
(1857-63)
 Causes of death: Overwhelmingly from
communicable diseases
(1) Nearly ½ perished from pulmonary
diseases (tuberculosis then generally known
as "consumption")
(2) Typhoid
(3) Diphtheria
 "Domino” effect

4. Obituaries in the Review and Herald
(1857-63)
 Death was no respecter of persons.
 Frequently the funeral services were conducted
without the presence of a minister.
 Death was a common, frequent, and most
unwelcome intruder in every Adventist family.

5. Death of George Washington
The practice of medicine 200 year ago.
One reason why God needed to send Adventists
the health message
(Mervyn G. Hardinge, A Physican Explains Ellen White’s Counsels on
Drugs, Herbs, and Natural Remedies [RHPA, 2001], pp. 37-38.)

6. The Need Today
While mortality rates have been materially lowered in the
past 150 years, the health condition of the average
American is still seriously at risk.
 United States ranks low in the World Health
Organization's roster of wellness among the
nations of the world.
‣ Cancer: breast, colon, and prostate cancers
‣ Diabetes
‣ Heart disease-related deaths

7.  Typical American diet is the major culprit in
the nation's deteriorating health.
‣ Sugar consumption has risen by 250% in the
last century.
‣ A century ago, 75% of all protein intake came
from plant foods; but today 75% is derived from
animal sources.
The Need Today

8. The Need Today
In his or her lifetime, the average American
today will consume (1995 estimates):
- (1) 15 cows (4) 900 chickens
- (2) 24 hogs (5) 1,000 lbs. of fish and game
- (3) 12 sheep (6) 26,250 lbs. of dairy products
This type of diet if high in protein and fat,
low in fiber and carbohydrates, and
deficient in minerals and vitamins is a sure
prescription for early disease and untimely
death.

9. Seven Reasons for the Health
Message
1. That we might live longer
2. That we might enjoy the years we have.
3. That we might be enabled to render service to
God longer, more efficiently.
4. That Seventh-day Adventists might be a good
witness for the Remnant Church.

10. 5. That we might help non-Adventists find
the benefits and blessings of good health.
6. That our mental perception might be
sharpened to better understand secular and
spiritual truth.
7. That we might attain greater spiritual
growth and development.
Seven Reasons for the Health
Message

11. Uniqueness of the Health Message
Ellen White’s health message was
not always unique. Adventists
were not always the first to teach
certain aspects of healthful living

12. What was unique about Ellen
White’s health message is its
philosophical and theological
approach to health.
She linked the Christian’s physical
condition and the spiritual
experience in a cause-effect
relationship.
Uniqueness of the Health Message

13. Origin of the Health Message
Ellen White received instructions from God
regarding the health message.
“I have had great light from the Lord upon
the subject of health reform. I did not seek
this light; I did not study to obtain it; it was
given to me by the Lord to give to others.”
(Ms 29, 1897; cited in CD 493)

14. Health Reform Visions
1. Vision of Autumn 1848 (CT)
Injurious effects of tobacco
[tea and coffee]

15. Health Reform Visions
2. Vision of February 12, 1854
(Brookfield, NY)
Lack of hygiene among Sabbath-keepers
Control of appetite needed.

16. Health Reform Visions
3. Vision of June 6, 1863 (Otsego, MI)
a. Care for health is a religious duty.
b. Most diseases caused by a violation of the
laws of health.
c. Condemnation of various forms of
intemperance: stimulating drinks (alcohol),
tobacco, highly-spiced foods, overwork

17. Health Reform Visions
d. Vegetarianism is advocated for the first time.
e. Proper dietary habits necessary to control
appetite.
f. Control of the mind is essential.
g. Natural remedies offered over drug medication:
pure air, water, sunshine, physical exercise,
adequate rest, fasting, proper nutrition. (Trust in
God was added in 1885).

18. Health Reform Visions
h. Personal hygiene.
i. Environmental concerns.
j. Health education urged.
k. Although these prescriptions are for all
people, the vision was given specially for
the White family.

19. 4. Vision of December 25, 1865 (Rochester,
NY)
Seventh-day Adventists should establish
health-care institutions to provide spiritual
and medical care to cure those already ill,
and to instruct people in methods of
preventive medicine.
Health Reform Visions

20. But what is the health message
Seventh-day Adventists received
from Ellen White?

21. What is the health message?
1. There is a significant link between the
Christian's physical condition and spiritual
experience.

22. Health and Spirituality
"The health of the body is to be regarded as
essential for growth in grace and the
acquirement of an even temper. If the stomach is
not properly cared for, the formation of an
upright, moral character will be hindered. The
brain and nerves are in sympathy with the
stomach. Erroneous eating and drinking result in
erroneous thinking and acting" (9T 160).

23. Health and Spirituality
“Our physical health is maintained by that which we eat; if
our appetites are not under the control of a sanctified
mind, if we are not temperate in all our eating and
drinking, we shall not be in a state of mental and
physical soundness to study the word with a purpose to
learn what saith the Scripture --what shall I do to inherit
eternal life? Any unhealthful habit will produce an
unhealthful condition in the system, and the delicate,
living machinery of the stomach will be injured, and will
not be able to do its work properly. The diet has much to
do with the disposition to enter into temptation and
commit sin.” (Ms 129, 1901 in CD 52)

24. What is the health message?
2. The body, in general, and the mind (with
its central nervous system), in particular,
are the only medium through which God
can communicate with human beings.
This point is likely the most important
concept in the entire Adventist health
message.

25. God communicates to us through
our mind
“The body is the only medium through which the
mind and the soul are developed for the
upbuilding of character. Hence it is that the
adversary of souls directs his temptations to the
enfeebling and degrading of the physical
powers. His success here means the surrender
to evil of the whole being. The tendencies of our
physical nature, unless under the dominion of a
higher power, will surely work ruin and death”
(MH 130).

26. What is the health message?
3. Although he/she follows correct health practices
as a "sacred duty," yet in the act of obeying
nature's health laws and basic health principles,
the Christian "earns" nothing toward his
salvation and eternal life.
Salvation is not a matter of eating and drinking
(Rom 14:17).

27. The health message is intended to
help the process of sanctification
“We are not our own. We have been purchased
with a dear price, even the sufferings and death
of the Son of God. If we could understand this
and fully realize it, we would feel a great
responsibility resting upon us to keep ourselves
in the very best condition of health, that we
might render to God perfect service. But when
we take any course which expends our vitality,
decreases our strength, or beclouds the intellect,
we sin against God. (continued)

28. The health message is intended to
help the process of sanctification
“In pursuing this course we are not glorifying Him in our
bodies and spirits which are His, but are committing a
great wrong in His sight. Has Jesus given Himself for
us? Has a dear price been paid to redeem us? And is it
so, that we are not our own? Is it true that all the powers
of our being, our bodies, our spirits, all that we have, and
all we are, belong to God? It certainly is. And when we
realize this, what obligation does it lay us under to God
to preserve ourselves in that condition that we may
honor Him upon the earth in our bodies and in our spirits
which are His?” (CH 43)

29. What is the health message?
4. The Christian, in every act of life, seeks to be
guided by two great principles:
(a) Actively seek to promote and maintain life and
good health (CD 395)
(b) Do the very best possible in every
circumstances in life in which we find ourselves
(HP 60).

30. What is the health message?
5. Christians will strive to follow the principles of
"true temperance"–which is defined as:
(a) "judicious" moderation in the use of all that is
good and health-producing, and
(b) "total abstinence" from all that harms and hurts.

31. True temperance
“True temperance teaches us to dispense
entirely with everything hurtful and to use
judiciously that which is healthful.” (PP 562)

32. What is the health message?
6. The body can be polluted, defiled, and ultimately
destroyed, through various bad health-habits:
(a) Ingestion of all deleterious food/drink and harmful
substances
(b) Insufficient (or a lack of the right kind of) physical
exercise (ML 138)
(c) Overwork–often coupled with insufficient rest/relaxation
(1T 618)

33. What is the health message?
(d) Feeding the mind upon impure thoughts (2T 408)
(e) Improper posture (Ed 198)
(f) Abuse of bodily organs
(Over-eating or eating too rapidly; dinking too much liquid
at mealtime; irregularity in meal times; snacking between
meals; physical over-exertion; straining)
(g) Failure to employ natural remedies – or in sufficient
amount

34. What is the health message?
7. God's church has an obligation to establish
health care and educational centers to provide
for two great needs:
(a) To provide healing for those affected with
illness and disease,
(b) To propagate preventive methods in a program
of health education

35. Health care and education
“I was shown that we should provide a
home for the afflicted and those who wish
to learn how to take care of their bodies
that they may prevent sickness.” (1T 489)

36. What is the health message?
8. Wherever possible, healing should be
accomplished through natural remedies:
 Nutrition
 Exercise
 Water (pure)
 Sunlight
 Temperance (abstemiousness)
 Air (pure, fresh)
 Rest
 Trust in divine power

37. Natural remedies
“Pure air, sunlight, abstemiousness, rest,
exercise, proper diet, the use of water,
trust in divine power – these are the true
remedies. Every person should have a
knowledge of nature’s remedial agencies
and how to apply them.” (MH 127)

38. What is the health message?
9. The original Edenic vegetarian diet of fruits,
nuts, grains, and vegetables is still the ideal diet
today.
(a) Flesh foods (meat, fish, poultry) and certain
dairy products are increasingly undesirable and
unsafe for human consumption.
(b) When flesh articles are removed from the diet,
adequate nutritional substitutes must be
provided.

39. The Edenic diet is best
“Grains, fruits, nuts, and vegetables constitute
the diet chosen for us by our Creator. These
foods, prepared in as simple and natural a
manner as possible, are the most healthful and
nourishing. They impart a strength, a power of
endurance, and a vigor of intellect, that are not
afforded by a more complex and stimulating
diet.” (MH 296)

40. What is the health message?
10. In seeking the reform of others, attitude
may be even more important than precept.
The greatest patience, kindness, courtesy,
tact, and discretion must be exercised by
the health-reformer at all times, if he/she is
to be truly effective in exercising a positive
influence for good.

41. Attitude Matters
“Of all people in the world, [health] reformers
should be the most unselfish, the most kind, the
most courteous. In their lives should be seen the
true goodness of unselfish deeds. The worker
who manifests a lack of courtesy, who shows
impatience at the ignorance or waywardness of
others, who speaks hastily or acts thoughtlessly,
may close the door to hearts so that he can
never reach them.” (MH 157)

42. Attitude Matters
“Those who understand the laws of health and who are
governed by principle, will shun the extremes, both of
indulgence and of restriction. Their diet is chosen, not for
the mere gratification of appetite, but for the upbuilding
of the body. They seek to preserve every power in the
best condition for highest service to God and man. . . .
There is real common sense in dietetic reform. The
subject should be studied broadly and deeply, and no
one should criticize others because their practice is not,
in all things, in harmony with his own. It is impossible to
make an unvarying rule to regulate everyone's habits,
and no one should think himself a criterion for all.” (MH
319-320)

43. The health message is more than
vegetarianism (though it includes it).
It is more, even, than the more broad
question of diet and nutrition (though it
includes these, too).
Breadth and Scope of the Health
Message

44. It embraces a total concept of wellness and
lifestyle, including (among other things)
physical exercise and mental hygiene.
It is concerned with the prevention of
disease, not merely its cure.
It embraces the maintenance of good
health, as well as its recovery.
Breadth and Scope of the Health
Message

45. Dr. J. H. Kellogg (1895):
“When a new thing is brought out in the medical work, I know
from my knowledge of the Spirit of Prophecy whether it
belongs in our system or not. If it does, I instantly adopt it,
and advertise it, while the rest of the doctors are slowly
feeling their way; and when they finally adopt it, I have five
years' start of them. On the other hand, when the medical
profession is swept off their feet by some new fad, if it does
not fit the light we have received, I simply do not touch it.
When the doctors finally discover their mistake, they wonder
how it came that I did not get caught” (A Critique of the Book
‘Prophetess of Health’ (1976), pp. 16-17).
Practicality of the Health Message